A suicide bomb and gun attack on a Methodist church in Pakistan has killed at least five people, reports say.
The attack happened in the city of Quetta, some 65km (40 miles) from the border with Afghanistan.
More than a dozen people were also wounded after gunmen wearing explosive vests tried to enter the building.
The two attackers were intercepted at the entrance, the region’s home minister, Sarfaraz Bugti, said on Twitter.
Had the men not been stopped there could have been hundreds of casualties, he added.
One of the men detonated his bomb vest and the other was stopped in a gunfight with police.
Attack of terrorists on Zarghoon road church in Quetta is condemned. Pakistan’s resolve against terrorism cannot be deterred by these cowardly acts. — Dr Mohammad Faisal (@ForeignOfficePk) December 17, 2017
Attack of terrorists on Zarghoon road church in Quetta is condemned. Pakistan’s resolve against terrorism cannot be deterred by these cowardly acts.
— Dr Mohammad Faisal (@ForeignOfficePk) December 17, 2017
Security forces are conducting a search operation and have surrounded the site of the attack, in the city’s high-security zone, local Urdu-language TV channels report.
A spokesman for the foreign affairs ministry, Dr Mohammed Faisal, condemned the attack.
